Saturday, June 8, 2013

A couple of years ago my parents and I finally dropped all gift-giving formality and we started giving each other gift cards for holidays and birthdays. I used to think that gift cards smacked of thoughtlessness, but I've since come around to the line of thinking that it's actually less thoughtful to buy someone something you're not sure they'll like just so you can feel good about yourself for making the effort. Kind of defeats the purpose of gift-giving, doesn't it?

In any case, my parents were nice enough to give me a Banana Republic gift card for my birthday. I used to work for them in my college days and have always liked their stuff, so I was pleased to receive it. I ended up getting these bad boys:

They're a little too orange and not mauve enough to be Nantucket reds (some other lucky diminutive guy already got our size), but they're pretty obnoxious and I love them for that. They're a smash with a white shirt and my blue suede loafers, but I wore them to work on a casual day and paired them with tan/cream argyle (trust me) socks and my tobacco wingtips. On top was a blue coat, blue/white gingham shirt, and a tan tie in raw silk:

The pocket square was a handmade birthday gift from a friend; it pairs nicely with the tie and is done in a motif with archaeological tools and finds. Given that my girlf fiancee is an archaeologist, I think it now makes sense to incorporate some of that into my wardrobe. Now all I need is an Indiana Jones hat.

Here's the whole getup:

I was so pleased with this combination of things I could have exploded. I have only one other pair of obnoxious pants, but they're a deep brown and not nearly as loud as these. Are they for everyday wear? Certainly not; put these on twice in a week and all of a sudden I'm the Guy in the Ridiculous Red Pants. Once a month, on the other hand, just means that I get to scream for attention every once in a while and get away with it.